Catching the Wrong Waves!
By Gabby Ceconi ('22)
Over this past weekend, the West Coast warned and prepared oceanside residents of a tsunami warning after a volcano near the Pacific island Tongo erupted. Whilst most people grabbed their things and ran to high ground, many daredevil surfers flocked to the beaches, taking it as an opportunity to catch a wave comparable to those at Pipeline in their backyard.
Satellite imagery of the Tonga eruption.
However, the surfers failed to realize that even if these waves were stellar, curling in with solid tubes, and were mighty high, that they were extremely powerful! The volcanic eruption, though small, was extremely powerful, and caused the Pacific to become unruly and unforgiving. Even the strongest and most experienced swimmers had a hard time paddling back to shore, which resulted in many fire department rescue teams being forced to jump into the rip currents and save rebellious surfers.
Many of the fire departments had such a hard time swimming in these dangerous waters that they had to instead escort them to Coast Guard boats, nearby sailboats, and other beaches as the conditions were too dangerous to try and swim back to shore. Fire department rescue teams expressed their general annoyance with the surfers, reminding them that the different counties' warnings are strict and final. Lt. Jonathan Baxter of the San Francisco Fire Department expresses the gravity of his team's rescues, "We're not diving in the surf, we're able to get them before they're pulled out to sea."
Surfers struggle to catch waves over the weekend.
Photo courtesy of USA Today.
One surfer in Ocean Beach even had his board snap in half, resulting in him being rescued by a Coast Guard boat, a team of rescue swimmers, and a helicopter. Talk about a wipeout!
Despite this, the beaches were able to be opened again on Saturday evening, however, beachgoers and surfers were highly advised to not enter the waters. Minimal damage was reported from the lingering waves, including a flooded parking lot in the Santa Cruz Harbor. Surf's up!
Cover photo courtesy of Mercury News.